Bernie Slaven has shared his thoughts on all things Middlesbrough after what's been a difficult week on Teesside so far.

The defeat to Cardiff on Saturday left Boro 10 points off the pace in the Championship, and the mood was hardly helped following a 3-1 reverse at Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup 72 hours later.

Now, heading into a vital spell, Boro must quickly find some consistency and momentum as the pressure mounts on Garry Monk.

Here, Bernie has his say on the main talking points of the week:

On Boro's defensive struggles

"It's concerning. There's been so many pairings - we've seen three different ones in the last few weeks.

"We have to defend better. Under Aitor Karanka the whole team was defending, but now there's a more of an attacking mentality. It's the easiest thing to defend - the hardest thing in football is to put the ball in the back of the net. But Boro are coming unstuck on both fronts at the moment.

"Garry Monk can't solve the problems in defence by chopping and changing. Dael Fry made a mistake, then was out. Ryan Shotton made a mistake, then was out. Daniel Ayala came in - you can't do that. It's the biggest kick in the b****** for a player who makes one mistake and is then dropped.

Dael Fry battles with Callum Wilson (Image: PA)

"I don't know who plays at centre-back on Saturday. Ben Gibson won't know if he's coming or going because of the number of partners he's had. That's now having an impact on his game - he has been exposed and doesn't look comfortable.

"I thought Fry came in and did well, but his confidence has been knocked - and Ayala was poor against Cardiff, well everyone did. In Ayala's defence, he's hardly played any games in the last two years - it's been the same for Shotton over the last few weeks.

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"If I was in the dressing room after Bournemouth, I'd have got into Dael's ear and said 'you're a good player, you have a lot of quality and are still young - this will be the making of you'.

"Making mistakes is part and parcel of football, it's about how you respond and bounce back from that.

"Then there's problems in central midfield, do we play with two or three, and who plays? Does Britt Assombalonga have a partner or not? We have to find a solution and get a bit of consistency."

A 'missed opportunity' at Bournemouth

"I don't think the result or performance at Bournemouth will have any bearing on the game at Reading.

"Garry Monk made 10 changes and the odds are he'll do the same again on Saturday. Even if we won 3-0 on Tuesday and played fantastically well, it would be a completely different XI on the pitch for the next game.

"But personally, I would've picked a team on Tuesday night and said to them, 'right, you're in for the next five games - go and build up some confidence and an understanding, get your heads up and start playing'.

Callum Wilson celebrates scoring Bournemouth's second against Boro

"But for some obscure reason, it's become a normal thing for clubs in modern football to rotate for cup games.

"I understand if you're playing in Europe and you want to change things about, if you've got loads of games stacked up - but Boro aren't in Europe.

"I just think it was a missed chance to get back to winning games and get a bit of belief, a bit of consistency back."

The ingredients that have been lacking

"What I do know is that Boro have to perform 100% better than they did against Cardiff.

"I've watched a lot of football games - played in my fair share of them too - and I was concerned watching Boro last Saturday. It was the most concerning game of football I've seen for a fair old while.

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"I didn't see any of that against Cardiff - some players looked like they just weren't bothered. I won't name names, but I would have if I was a player in that dressing room afterwards.

"They were walking about. It has to be better - we have to expect better."

Mounting pressure on Garry Monk

"I've heard a few calls of 'Monk out' from some supporters over the last few days. Look, I know it's not going to plan but calling for the manager to be sacked after a dozen games? I don't get that - ridiculous, in my opinion.

"The more money you spend, the greater the expectation - Monk is learning that the hard way.

"I look back at Sir Alex Ferguson in his early Man Utd days. He was getting flak, I remember he faced Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and everyone said he'd have got the boot if he lost that game.

"He drew and then won the replay - and went on become the most decorated manager in British football. It proved to be the making of him and of Man Utd.

Garry Monk watches on during the Bournemouth game

"No, it's not the same situation with Monk - but I think you have to give a manager time.

"I understand the fans' frustration. I heard about Monk's comments after the Cardiff game - I couldn't see any positives from where I was sitting.

"I'm not a massive fan of spin or whatever from a manager, and I'd have hoped players will have pointed the finger at each other after that game.

"But I don't think anybody should be sacked at this stage of the season."

What Boro have to do at Reading

"The next run of games - starting at Reading - are vital. It's an unbelievably important spell for Boro.

"They've got two away games, then three of their next four games are at home. That's a massive test of character and that's when we'll see what Boro are about.

"But I'll come back to that word - passion. That's what we need. Against Cardiff I wanted to climb over the hoardings and shake a couple of the players into life.

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"I think Martin Braithwaite is a player who has a big role to play. He's missed a lot of football through injury but looks back and seems to be the part. He's looked sharp, has scored a couple of goals and I like the look of him.

"He'll probably be in the team for Reading - but it's impossible to say who else will be in that XI. At the start of the season I'm sure Monk named virtually the same team for three games, and I praised him for that.

"But since then there's never been a settled XI.

Garry Monk (Image: CameraSport)

"There's a saying that football is a simple game complicated by idiots - and I think there's some truth in that. It is a simple game - two goals, 11 players on each side, 90 minutes.

"It's straightforward and sometimes players just need to be given a simple message - 'go and get the better of your opposite number, score a few goals and make it difficult for the opposition'.

"That's it - Boro have to get back to doing that.

"So I want to see Boro go to Reading and give it a good go. Whoever is in the midfield - Grant Leadbitter, Adam Clayton, whoever - I want to go and see them clatter somebody in the first couple of minutes. Obviously make sure you get the ball, but let the opposition know they're in for a game.

"Because talent alone can't get you through games - Boro have to do everything else, the ugly stuff, to turn things around."